Some destinations aren’t produced for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy allows you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for autos. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The forms of locations exactly where locals learn how to linger — more than espresso, over stories, around daily life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice plan. It feels crucial. Probably it’s a reaction to a long time of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you lastly start to value time as much as length. In any event, more travelers are obtaining joy in Mastering to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is a component of that movement. His name has become related to a further, extra considerate means of seeing the planet.
So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — and you also’re imagining Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that practically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your first perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across an extended, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, it’s silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the Sunlight.
There’s not much to perform, which is exactly the position. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note the light. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct in to the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears to the rocks.
The tempo here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of travel sticks with individuals? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a visit very last for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals learn how to delight in them correctly — which happens to be to mention, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with unforeseen frescoes, doorways which make you prevent, and piazzas that really feel far more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it take place. That’s wherever the best vacation tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was made to be “the right town,” and Actually, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a see. Each view contains a breeze.
However it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, primarily — pecorino growing old in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Men and women consider their time right here, and eventually, so would you.
On the lookout for far more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and vacation in Italy. Worth the go through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a place.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Permit it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual journey — how locations like this give a unique sort of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it rewards those who detect. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it once again, looking at anything new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are A part of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Good
In this article’s the thing. You are able to see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap shots. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by subsequent Tuesday?
Vacation such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a different notion. Nevertheless it’s 1 we’re lastly check here all set to hear.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.